Religion and Science

I just found this old post from Oxford. I'm not sure exactly where the posting process broke down but I'm sure it was a user error. So in the spirit of nostalgia, I present you a blog I wrote nearly four months ago. Enjoy!

A post titled "Religion and Science" sounds like it would delve into deep questions of life but for now I won't go there. Instead, I'd like to show you two different parts of Oxford. The first is the Trinity College Chapel and the second is the Oxford Museum of Natural History. We'll save the science and religion debate for later.

Here are a few pictures of the interior of the Trinity College Chapel.

The ceiling.

Detailed carvings.

A view from the entrance.

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The other day I took a trip to the Oxford Museum of Natural History and the Pitts River Museum. The Pitts River Museum is extremely controversial because it is full of human remains and other weird knick knacks. The museum reminds me of what Grandpa George dreams about for his museum.

In the Pitts River Museum I saw the tip of a human tongue meant to cure disease, a biscuit from 1901 meant to cure the common cold, an old voodoo doll, a dried toad with needles in it meant to fend off evil spirits, and much more. They had guns, tools, clothes, mummies complete with x-rays, old coffins, ship models, and more. I spend the entire day just reading about random history. It was just one of those places where you would be looking at an 18th century sewing kit and then turn around to find that you're staring at skulls and shrunken heads.

Below is a picture of one of the many shrunken heads that can be found in the museum. When the Europeans came to the United States they were so fascinated with the practice that they would pay big money for shrunken heads. Originally meant to portray heroism over an enemy, shrunken heads suddenly became a huge moneymaking prospect. People started shrinking the heads of monkeys in imitation, or even shrinking the heads of people who had died from natural causes. The museum made me a little uncomfortable at times, but it was certainly worth seeing.


Oxford also has a Museum of Natural History which is awesome. I've added some nice pictures of that for your viewing pleasure.

The museum is lined with famous scientists. This one just happens to be Darwin.

This is the exterior of the museum.

A line of skeletons.

Galileo watches over the deinotherium skull.

The museum's beautiful interior, which has arches that reflect the industrial revolution.

With that, I'll leave you with some music to listen to.

I am currently rocking out with Everybody Else's "Born To Do." I predict that this type of music (or pop with a slight electronic infusion) is the future of American music. They say cinema creates more musicals during times of national trouble. In the past years the number of musicals released have increased significantly. With this change I believe we ought to follow suit with music. Here comes bands like Everybody Else, Matt and Kim, The Blow, and more...